


Seeping Cold

by Artemiseire



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-24
Updated: 2015-05-24
Packaged: 2018-04-01 02:10:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 610
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4001908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Artemiseire/pseuds/Artemiseire
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lavellan makes the mistake of going through the Fallow Mire alone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Seeping Cold

     This was most decidedly not what she was expecting when they told her to go to the bog. Sure, she was expecting the rain and the seeping cold that left her skin feeling like melting ice; the bitter, earthy smell of the mud that slicked her every step, and the overpowering darkness and heavy dankness of the trees and clouds, caging her into this smelly cesspool.  
     Nobody told her about the bodies.  
     They littered the side of the road – if you could call it a road, their decaying corpses adding a sour note to the bitter-scented fog. Twisted and mangled limbs reaching up stiffly to the sky, fresh arrows in bloodless, rotting wounds.  
     She definitely should not have come alone.  
     It’s alright, she told herself for the fiftieth time. So long as I remember what the scouts said and stay out of the water I’ll be okay.  
     But what exactly was the difference between the swampy water and the muddy path?  
     Carefully she made her way around the swamp, trying to avoid the still waters on either side of the barely-solid walk. She made it rather far, at least according to her map, before she had to stop.  
     There was no path.  
     There were islands all over the swamp, usually connected by rickety bridges that gave under her weight but didn’t actually cave enough to disturb the glassy water beneath. As soft as the wood was from the water and the ever-present fog, these little slat bridges allowed her to continue on the designated footpath. However these two islands weren’t connected by anything. Not even the remnants of rotting stakes were there for her to attempt to hop onto. She had no choice but to run through the water and pray she didn’t wake anything.  
    Sucking in a deep breath she took two long, jumping steps through the water, splashing loudly in the thick silence of the fog. The water seeped up her legs and she cursed weakly, knowing it would be hours before she felt her ankles properly again. The thick water settled quickly, ripples fading off into the oily surface. She took a moment to gather herself and make sure nothing was stirring before continuing on the path.  
    And then she heard it. A slick plop, and a breathy groan. Whirling around she saw the corpse shambling up the mound of the island, it was far too close for her to reach her bow, forcing her to jerk her knives out of their sheathes at her hips. The moon glinted off the clean steel as her hands shook, her eyes darting around the decaying creature before her, trying to find weak points to finish the fight as quickly as possible. She ran ahead and buried the knife into its chest, gagging as thick water and old blood oozed out of the wound and onto her hand. The corpse swung a stiff arm at her, grabbing onto her hair. With one sharp tug to her hair she was almost toppled off of her feet. The creature reared its head back to bite at her, and she took the shot, slicing its head clean –or clean-ish – off with both of her blades. It stumbled back, loosening its grip on her hair, and plopped back into the muddy water with a sickening plunk.  
     With a curt sigh, she sheathed her knives and marched off on the path, smoothing her hair as best as she could. However, a sickeningly familiar groan had her skidding to a halt. Slowly turning she saw them; three more corpses wading out of the ripples caused by their fallen friend.  
     She should not have come here alone.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first work, originally done for a creative writing class with the prompt "zombies." I left it intentionally vague for class. Hope you enjoyed it and thanks for reading!


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